Location Divnogorsk, Russia Impounds Yenisey River Creates Krasnoyarsk Reservoir Height 124 m Create Krasnoyarsk Reservoir Type of dam Gravity dam | Opening date 1972 Length 1,065 m (3,494 ft) Total capacity 73.3 km (17.6 cu mi) Opened 1972 Construction began 1956 | |
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Similar Sayano–Shushenskaya Dam, Boguchany Dam, Bratsk Hydroelectric Power St, Ust‑Ilimsk Hydroelectric Power St, Ship lift of Krasnoyarsk hydroelec | ||
The Krasnoyarsk Dam is a 124-metre (407 ft) high concrete gravity dam located on the Yenisey River about 30 kilometres (19 mi) upstream from Krasnoyarsk in Divnogorsk, Russia. It was constructed from 1956 to 1972 and supplies 6,000 MW of power, mostly used to supply the KrAZ (Krasnoyarsky Aluminievyy Zavod, Krasnoyarsk Aluminum Plant). Both power and aluminum plants are controlled by the RUSAL company.
Map of Krasnoyarsk Dam, Krasnoyarskiy kray, Russia, 663090
As a result of the damming, the Krasnoyarsk Reservoir was created. This reservoir, informally known as the Krasnoyarsk Sea, has an area of 2,000 square kilometres (770 sq mi) and a volume of 73.3 cubic kilometres (18 cu mi). It is 388 km (241 mi) in length and 15 km (9 mi) in width at its widest, has an average depth of 36.6 m (120.1 ft), and a depth of 105 m (344 ft) near the dam.
The dam significantly influences the local climate; normally the river would freeze over in the bitterly-cold Siberian winter, but because the dam releases unfrozen water year-round, the river never freezes in the 200 kilometres (120 mi) to 300 kilometres (190 mi) stretch of river immediately downstream of the dam. In winter, the frigid air interacts with the warm river water to produce fog, which shrouds Krasnoyarsk and other downstream areas.
The dam is equipped with a canal inclined plane to allow passage of ships. It is in fact an electric rack railway. The track gauge is 9,000 mm (29 ft 6 5⁄16 in). At the time of its construction, this feat of modern engineering allowed for ships to be physically re-moved in only 90 minutes. Held to be a landmark symbol of Krasnoyarsk, it is depicted on the 10-ruble bill.